Submitted by dave crockett, Jul 12, 2007 08:48

...the NFL systematically underpays veteran players relative to market. The second deals they sign often look monstrous on the ESPN sportsticker but the only part of these backloaded deals to be taken seriously is the signing bonus. For all but the top handful of NFL vets, who rarely hit the open market, post-rookie deals are a life of non-guaranteed money and extreme roster uncertainty, all of which favors the league.

By contrast basketball and baseball systematically underpay unproven talent, but vets get a fair shot at "making their money" after their rookie deals expire, either via arbitration in baseball or by acquiring their "Bird rights" in hoops. More importantly, they get at least some limited roster certainty. (You also have to consider the expanded endorsement opportunities available to the Al Horfords of the world that simply will not be available to the Joe Thomases.)

So the NFL owners hardly make a convincing damsel in distress. Yeah, a bad rookie deal can hamstring a team. But welcome to the world of business. And frankly, the only time NFL owners confront sho-nuff free-market dynamics on a field that isn't terribly slanted in their favor is with rookie contracts--and even then, realistically, only those in the top two-thirds of the first round.

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